In LIV Golf’s apparent demise, the instrumental player was Tiger Woods

Four years after its splashy launch, LIV Golf appears to be little but ash and burning embers. At the same moment, the PGA Tour this week trumpeted an aggressive format change with an aim toward more money and eyeballs.

As the PGA Tour reaches the end of the season with its Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club beginning Thursday, it’s a fitting time to consider this alternative history:

What if Tiger Woods had joined LIV?

The outcome between the two rivals could well have flipped entirely. So said Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee, who spoke with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Wednesday after the final practice round of the week at East Lake.

“If Tiger had gone, LIV might have succeeded and the Tour might have died,” Chamblee said, holed up in the studio tower overlooking the East Lake clubhouse. “When you talk about Tiger, not only was he transformative in reshaping the PGA Tour; he may have single-handedly saved the PGA Tour. There should be a statue of Tiger Woods in front of PGA Tour headquarters.”

The Tour might have died.

May have single-handedly saved the PGA Tour.

That’s a pretty big bite of the apple.

Obviously, it is speculative. For one thing, a damaged back and injuries from a 2021 car wreck left Woods in no shape for a prominent playing role on LIV. But it’s hardly an outrageous position to stake.

Remember how many big names LIV lured, even without Woods — Phil Mickelson, Jon Rahm, Sergio Garcia, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson (a combined 18 majors), among others.

LIV ultimately became such a threat that the PGA Tour agreed in 2023 to a merger, although the partnership never materialized.

Adding Woods would have given LIV the ultimate stamp of credibility and cachet to the rest of the PGA Tour, fans and sponsors. It’s not difficult to envision Woods’ departure triggering an even larger exodus of stars and rank-and-file tour members.

It would have gone a long way toward putting to rest concerns about LIV’s legitimacy or qualms about abandoning the PGA Tour to align with a tour backed by the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia, a nation with a lengthy record of human-rights abuses.

And in that scenario, would the PGA Tour have been worth watching?

There’s a reason Woods was offered between $700 million and $800 million to join LIV, according to reports at the time. He would have been the ultimate game-changer.

Instead, Woods stayed loyal to the PGA Tour, speaking out against LIV and building support among PGA Tour players to stay. And in so doing, he may well have saved it.

Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee (pictured at the Arnold Palmer Invitational golf tournament in Orlando, Fla.,) believes that the PGA Tour "might have died" if Tiger Woods had left it for the LIV Golf tour. (Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP 2017)

“If he had gone, LIV would have succeeded even in spite of the fact that the money was blood money and it came from such a dirty and seedy place,” Chamblee said. “It would have succeeded because he’s that impactful.”

It’s worth noting that Chamblee isn’t someone trying to score points with Woods. He has been quite willing to criticize the golf demigod. He has also been there for every step of the PGA Tour/LIV rivalry and has a deep understanding of the game’s history.

Chamblee’s perspective on Woods’ role in the LIV saga is hardly a blithe assessment.

The Tour might have died.

May have single-handedly saved the PGA Tour.

It won’t be remembered as vividly as what Woods did with a club in his hands, winning 82 times on the PGA Tour (tied with Sam Snead for most all-time) and 15 majors (three shy of Jack Nicklaus’ record) and giving the tour’s profile an immeasurable lift, to say nothing of the entire sport. Ironically, without Woods making the game more popular, LIV may never have existed in the first place.

But it is worth recognizing, particularly this week.